In the mid-March chill Thursday , the victims and their stories continued to emerge as firefighters ferreted through the piles of bricks and wreckage on the East Harlem block where a powerful explosion and fire leveled two buildings .

They brought life to a vibrant neighborhood of corner bodegas , churches , shops and redbrick tenements whose ordinary rhythms were shattered when the Wednesday morning blast killed at least eight and injured dozens more . The eighth body was recovered Thursday evening , a spokesman with the New York City Fire Department said .

Among the victims was Carmen Tanco , a 67-year-old dental hygienist who relatives tried desperately to reach by cellphone .

`` She 's sassy , spicy , which is why her and I are so close , '' her niece , Marisela Frias , 44 , said before learning her aunt had died . `` We have the same temperament , character . We tell it like it is , tell you the truth , whether you want to hear it or not . What you see is what you get . ''

Another victim , Griselde Camacho , 44 , was a public safety officer at the Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work in East Harlem , the school 's website said .

`` Griselde was a well-liked member of our community , a respected officer and a welcoming presence at our Silberman building , '' said Jennifer J. Raab , the college president . `` Our deepest sympathies go out to her family , and we are committed to doing everything we can to support them in their time of great emotional need . We also know this is a difficult time for all those who knew and worked with Sergeant Camacho . All of you will be in our thoughts in the days ahead . ''

Camacho and Tanco were remembered by Carlton Brown , bishop of Bethel Gospel Assembly , on the church 's Facebook page .

`` Our hearts are heavy as we will truly miss these two beautiful women , '' Brown wrote . `` Many of us share fond memories on how they have blessed our lives with their warm smiles and caring natures . They were both faithful volunteers ... ''

Rosaura Hernandez , 21 , who also perished in the explosion , was a line cook at Triomphe Restaurant , general manager Robert Holmes said .

`` We liked her enthusiasm and raw talent , '' Holmes said . `` It 's a terrible loss . My staff has taken it hard ... She was solid as a rock , never got flustered . She was calm , even-tempered . One of our line cooks was quite close with her . When he heard she was missing , he said , ` Can I go find Rosie ? I got ta look for her . ' I said , of course . It 's a terrible tragedy . ''

Though authorities have said a gas leak may have triggered the explosion , Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters Thursday that the official cause was under investigation .

`` We know there was an explosion , '' he said , `` but we do n't know everything about the lead-up to it . ''

The other fatalities were Andreas Panagopoulos , 43 ; George Ameado , 44 ; Rosaura Barrios , 44 ; and Alexis Salas , 22 .

One fatal victim remains unidentified .

On Wednesday , one woman tried in vain to find her husband , Jordy Salas , who may have been on the second floor of one of the collapsed buildings . She fainted and was taken to a hospital .

Desperate search for survivors

Near 116th Street and Park Avenue , once the heart of New York 's large Puerto Rican community , firefighters tore at mounds of bricks in a search for survivors from the collapsed five-story buildings , which housed a piano store and an evangelical church , in addition to apartments .

`` We -LRB- had -RRB- probably about two-and-a-half floors of debris , so we have it now down to about one , one-and-a-half floors , '' Edward Kilduff , fire chief of department , told de Blasio during a tour of the site . `` The victims have primarily been found on the left-center side about 20 feet in . ''

On Thursday , Con Edison officials said the utility received a call reporting a gas leak around 9:13 a.m. Wednesday from a resident at one of the newer buildings on Park Avenue . The utility dispatched a truck two minutes later , but it arrived after the explosion . The caller reported smelling gas the night before but did not call the utility at the time .

Two gas repairs were made on the block in January 2011 and May 2013 following complaints of a gas odor , Con Ed CEO John McAvoy said . The utility looked back at 10 years of checks and repairs on the gas main on the block and found no `` historical condition , '' he said . In addition , Con Ed checks for leaks in the area on February 10 and February 28 detected no problems .

Fire officials said they received no reports of gas leaks in the area in the last month , while police reported receiving no calls since 2010 .

Fire marshals , police arson investigators and the National Transportation Safety Board -- which probes gas explosions -- worked to determine the cause of the explosion .

`` In one word , devastating , '' was how Robert Sumwalt of the NTSB described the scene Thursday afternoon . He called it an `` active search and rescue operation . ''

`` You have , basically , two five-story buildings reduced to essentially a three-story pile of bricks and twisted metal . ''

Sumwalt said the agency was `` operating under the assumption that a natural gas leak led to an explosion , '' but that his team of investigators had not yet examined the crater where the buildings once stood .

De Blasio said 66 people , including 14 families with children , had received temporary shelter .

Some wreckage was still smoldering Thursday , with the fire whipped by the cold wind , de Blasio said .

`` Our biggest concern now is the free-standing wall in the back , '' Kilduff said . `` That was a little more solid last night , but it burned overnight . ''

The massive explosion shook Manhattan 's East Harlem section around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday .

Surreal scenes after explosion

Colin Patterson said he was watching TV when a thunderous blast suddenly sent pianos hurling through the air in the shop where he works .

`` They flew off the ground , '' said the piano technician , who also lives in the building in East Harlem . He told CNN affiliate WABC that he crawled through the rubble and managed to escape unharmed .

A building department official said one of the two Park Avenue buildings that collapsed received a city permit last year for the installation of 120 feet of gas piping . The work was completed last June . In 2008 , owners of the adjacent building , which also collapsed , were fined for failing to maintain vertical cracks in the rear of the building . The condition was not reported as corrected to the buildings department .

There were a total of 15 units in the two buildings , officials said .

Building department records detailed a litany of violations , dating back decades , for one of the collapsed buildings , including a lack of smoke detectors , blocked fire escapes and faulty light fixtures .

The mayor told reporters that the report of the gas leak , which he said came about 15 minutes before the explosion , was `` the only indication of danger . ''

Blast shook Manhattan for blocks

Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said responding firefighters barely missed the blast .

`` If we were here five minutes earlier we may have had some fatalities among firefighters , '' he said . `` Not being here may have saved some lives . ''

Once a predominantly Italian neighborhood , the stretch of East Harlem saw a large influx of Puerto Ricans in the 1950s . It went on to be called Spanish Harlem and El Barrio . In the 1990s , many Mexican immigrants began to move into the area , which has been gentrified in recent years , with many mom-and-pop shops replaced by restaurants and bars .

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An eighth body is recovered , says a fire spokesman

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Police identify another victim , Andreas Panagopoulos

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`` In one word , devastating , '' is how NTSB investigator describes scene

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At least five people are unaccounted for , city officials say